More than 70 delegations speak as homelessness takes over council budget discussion

The issue of homelessness in the City of Regina dominated public hearings at the city’s budget discussions on Thursday.

Over 70 times, Mayor Sandra Masters asked delegations to state their name for the record and told them they had five minutes to address councillors.

Most delegates came to Henry Baker Hall to voice their support for operational funding to solve the growing homelessness crisis in Regina.

“Housing people shouldn’t be up for debate,” said Meadow Wells-Goudie.

“I am here to call on city council to honour the commitment to the ending homelessness motion that was passed unanimously on June 15,” said Peter Gilmer of the Regina Anti-poverty Ministry. “This is a life-saving place for the city to fill a void.”

“This is the just, compassionate and caring thing to do for the people you represent who are presently suffering and dying,” said Russell Mitchel-Walker.

“Why do we have the capacity, the ability and funding to make our community whole but lack the will to do so?” asked Shobna Radons, president of the Regina & District Labour Council. “What does success look like?”

“If the city can discuss the idea of building a new arena, then they must commit and prioritize supporting a housing-first strategy,” said Wells-Goudie.

Kevin Vance, Pastor of Gentle Road Church, drew attention to individuals who had died on the streets. He listed 11 people, who had to remain unnamed due to council protocols.

While Vance read his list, members of the gallery stood in remembrance.

“The homeless people we’re trying to help are not anonymous,” he said. “Many have eaten at [my] table and slept at [my] home.”

Wanda Natawayous placed her daughter’s urn in front of council before starting her address.

“I was told I can’t speak for her and she had to make her own speech,” Natawayous then pointed at the ashes. “She’s right here.”

Her daughter Angela Andrews died while homeless.

Councillors Dan Leblanc and Andrew Stevens called the large number of delegations who spoke to the issue historic.

“People are fed up with inaction on the issue and coming out,” said Leblanc.

“There’s more we can do,” said Stevens. “This is not a jurisdictional battle. I’m quite emotionally struck by the fact people care so much about this.”

Ward 2 Coun. Bob Hawkins said the city is already doing its part. He wanted to keep the mill rate increases between 3.5 and 4 per cent.

“Social services is provincial responsibility,” he said. “We can play a role in coordinating money and other efforts from other levels of government as well as non-profits.

“That’s a huge part of how we can help out but we also help with considerable financial contributions that you’ll see in the budget.”

The city currently invests $7.9 million annually to support homelessness, according to budget documents.

There were no deliberations or debate among councillors due to the large amount of delegations Thursday.

The city will continue budget hearings Friday morning and hope to finalize the budget by the end of the week.

THE NUMBERS

The city estimated an operating cost of $24.9 million for the project. The motion was added as a separate line item in the budget book, but the funding is not included in 2023-24 budget projections.

The plan would use a housing-first, supportive housing model to address homelessness. Capital investment to build, acquire or renovate housing units is estimated to cost $200,000 per unit.

The city projects a total capital cost of $97.6 million to create housing units over the next two years.

If the project was included in the budget, related expenditures would total $61.5 million in 2023 and $73.7 million in 2024.

The city said the added expenditures would result in a mill rate increase of 21.73 per cent in 2023 and 4.24 per cent in 2024, to balance the budget.

The average taxpayer would take on an estimated $40.59 per month in 2023 and 11.90 per month in 2024.

The city noted the plan and related expenses are not included in the proposed budget due to administration seeking to “recommend a balanced budget that ensures city operations and infrastructure are funded, and all council’s priorities are being met in a way that is affordable to taxpayers.”

During an interview Thursday morning, Mayor Sandra Masters said homelessness is not just a city issue, and it is being addressed by many other groups and organizations at the provincial and federal levels.

“I think the notion that the stroke of a pen or money solves homelessness is naïve and misleading frankly. I think that there are provincial and federal agencies that deal with the issues. I think what the city has been able to achieve in the last couple of years has been significant,” the mayor said.

Masters said she feels the city has developed good partnerships that will continue to help progress on the issue.

“In terms of affordable housing, we’ve added hundreds of units and clearly that’s not the solution either,” she said. “You just keep working away at it and you build partnerships with the agencies and the levels of government that you need to come to the table and I’m going to continue to work on that.”

Stevens however, said the homelessness crisis is getting worse and that council made a commitment to the public when it approved the plan to end homelessness.

The city currently invests $7.9 million annually to support homelessness, according to budget documents.

'HUMILIATING AND INTIMIDATING'

The plan to end homelessness not being included in the proposed budget for 2023-2024 was the focus of a court application dismissed by a Regina judge on Wednesday.

City councillors Andrew Stevens and Dan Leblanc filed a mandamus application against city manager Niki Anderson, asking the court to compel her to include the homelessness funding in the budget.

A mandamus application asks the court to order the government to perform a duty owed to the public.

Justice J.P. Morall dismissed the application, factoring in the other possible remedies to the conflict the councillors could have pursued.

“I find that the court should be quite leery of being involved in the political machinations and debates between members of municipal, provincial or federal decision-making bodies,” Justice Morall’s decision reads.

“While establishing the goalposts can be part of the court’s gatekeeping function, the remedy of mandamus is a blunt tool and must be used equitably and appropriately.”

Anderson addressed the media on Thursday for the first time since the court application was filed and said a polite inquiry from the two councillors would have been more effective than legal action, referencing the court decision.

“As a new employee at the City of Regina, I found the actions of councillor Leblanc and councillor Stevens to be humiliating and intimidating,” Anderson said.

The justice stated that Stevens and Leblanc will have full use of the democratic process during council deliberations to attempt to get the homelessness line item added to the final budget.

“It is my view that this would be an adequate and effective remedy in these circumstances. The proposed budget is an important tool to begin discussions but it has no legal force or authority,” the decision read.

Anderson acknowledged that city councillors can have confidence in her, while still disagreeing about funding issues or other administration matters.

“This idea that they’re mutually exclusive – not true,” Anderson said.

In an interview with CTV News on Thursday, Regina Mayor Sandra Masters said she is pleased with the ruling, as a member of council and personally for Anderson.

“I think what you saw in terms of doing our elected duties, that we continued to have a mixed voting amongst individuals in terms of how the votes turn out, I think that will continue,” Masters said.

“I’m not sure that from a trust perspective… I think some members of council feel that this was a bridge too far, so there probably needs to be some rebuilding of that over the next couple of years.”

Masters described the court application as a “nuclear option,” when other solutions such as calling a special council meeting could have been pursued.

“I think the erosion of confidence that the lawsuit itself, in terms of the application created, is not what you’d wish for any employee, let alone one who had been in the job for three weeks,” Masters said.

“But that vote of confidence from council that vote of confidence from the courts I think really solidifies that we need her to do the work that we need her to do and that she’s empowered to do it.”

Coun. Leblanc told reporters Wednesday he was not surprised by the verdict.

“[I'm] a bit disappointed frankly, I mean legally the decision is deemed to be right until overturned, I don’t expect we appeal it. I think there’s some tough political implications, notably one my first review of the decision it turns out the city manager does not have a public legal duty to follow council's directions,” he said.

“I think there are some negative involvement and implications for the way we do our democratic government but again legally the decision is taken and I would say is legally correct it’s just unfortunate that that’s what the law is in regards to city managers.”

He added that money in the proposed budget is more likely to stay in the final draft, and that Regina’s homelessness situation is getting worse and worse.

"I would say, we have vulnerable people in Regina, at least 488 of them, sleeping in tents, some of those tents burned down last night,” he said.

“Things are getting worse not better— inaction on this issue is making it worse, not better.”

More details to come...

With files from CTV News Regina's Brianne Foley